Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of trends in the level of the cost of travel insurance abroad for people diagnosed with cancer.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. For example, the existence of pre-existing medical conditions may represent an increased risk.
However, the Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value (i.e. if the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive). The FCA is clear that it monitors firms to ensure they provide products that are fair value, and, where necessary, it will take action.
It is worth noting that different insurers may take a different view of the relevant factors in determining the price of insurance based on their differing claims experience. Since some specialist travel insurers may be more equipped to provide cover for consumers with pre-existing medical conditions, the government would encourage consumers to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price.
To support consumers in accessing travel insurance, the FCA also requires travel insurers to signpost consumers to a directory of specialist providers if they are declined cover, offered cover with an exclusion, or charged a significantly higher premium based on their pre-existing medical conditions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of Inheritance Tax provisions for agricultural property on farmers.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 36399.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support cash transactions.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed regulatory responsibility for access to cash in September 2024. Its rules ensure cash continues to be a viable method of payment for the millions of people who depend on it and help businesses to continue to accept cash by providing reasonable access to cash deposit facilities.
Under the FCA’s regime the UK’s largest banks and building societies are required to assess the impact of a closure or material alteration of a relevant cash withdrawal or deposit facility and put in place a new service if necessary. Assessments are undertaken by LINK, the industry designated coordinating body responsible for conducting cash access assessments.
Where a resident, community organisation or other interested party feels access to cash in their community is insufficient, they can submit a request for a cash access assessment to LINK. Further information about submitting a cash access request can be found on LINK’s website.
In circumstances where LINK considers that a community requires additional cash services, the financial services sector will provide a suitable shared solution, such as an ATM, cash deposit service, or shared Banking Hub, for cash users in that community.
To ensure appropriate cash access facilities are in place to support communities and businesses across the country, the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament. These hubs will provide small businesses and individuals with critical cash and in-person banking services. Over 225 banking hubs have been recommended to date and over 150 are already open.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the uptake of private health insurance over the last five years.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Treasury has not made an assessment of the uptake of private health insurance over the last five years.
However, the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives 2024 survey, published in May 2025, estimated that in 2024, one in seven adults (14%) held private medical insurance, a 1 percentage point increase since 2022.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of online HMRC services.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Accessibility is a priority for HMRC, and its digital services are continuously assessed against the obligations of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR) (2018), which came into force in September 2020. Technical accessibility testing takes place when a new digital service is prepared for release to the public and again as it enters a mature, steady state. Any significant change to a service also requires an accessibility test to be conducted. This testing ensures that citizens who rely on assistive technologies, such as screen readers or dictation software, can use these tools to access the services and transact with HMRC.
In addition to this, HMRC strives to involve users of assistive technology in the research, design and development of its digital services which is key to building and running digital services that everyone can use.
There are also feedback mechanisms in place where citizens who run into accessibility issues with a live service can report these issues to our digital support team for investigation and resolution.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of recent trends in the level of inflation.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are the Government’s official economic forecaster. They published their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) on 26th March, including an assessment on recent trends in inflation. The EFO can be found at the link below.
https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2025/.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on financial support for disabled people.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
I regularly engage with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and other Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including support for disabled people. The Secretary of State recently launched the Pathways to Work Green Paper which set out government plans to support disabled people into work through a significant investment in employment support, and reform the health and disability benefits to make the system more pro work.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing tax breaks to employers who train apprentices.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Employers of those under the age of 21 and apprentices under the age of 25 already receive 100% employer National Insurance relief on salaries up to £50,270.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of the level of business rates on businesses over the last five years.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Business rates are devolved. In England, local authorities reported that the gross non-domestic rates income for 2023-24 was £33 billion.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties in England, with Rateable Values below £500,000 , from 2026-27. Ahead of these changes being made, we have prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.
These announcements reflect the Government’s first steps to support the high street. We want to go further to modernise the system, and so, we have published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for reform. This paper invites industry to help co-design a fairer business rates system over the course of this Parliament.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance her Department has issued to Northern Ireland businesses on the applicability of duty on goods bought from a supplier in England and sold in Northern Ireland to other Northern Ireland (a) businesses and (b) customers.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC has published extensive guidance in respect of goods movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, including setting out when duty is liable. The UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) enables eligible goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland to move without incurring duty. Where duty is paid and the business can evidence the goods did not enter the EU, this can be reclaimed via the Duty Reimbursement Scheme. Further information can be found at: Moving goods you bring into Northern Ireland as 'not at risk’ of moving to the EU - GOV.UK